Air Seychelles to take delivery of airbus A320

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, will take delivery of its first Airbus A320 aircraft in December 2014, heralding significant enhancements to its international flight schedule at the same time.

The changes,
effective 1 December, include increased weekly frequencies between Seychelles
and Abu Dhabi, more capacity on flights to Mauritius, and revised schedules for
routes to and from Johannesburg, Mauritius, and Paris.

Air
Seychelles’ Chief Executive Officer, Manoj Papa, said: “The addition of a
two-cabin Airbus A320 aircraft to our fleet, configured with 16 seats in
Business Class and 120 in Economy Class, forms an essential component of our
plan to establish Air Seychelles as the carrier of choice in the Indian Ocean
region.

“The aircraft,
a wet lease from partner Etihad Airways, will allow Air Seychelles to extend
the depth and breadth of its network, increase its regional brand presence, and
crucially deliver more revenue which will be used to further develop Air
Seychelles’ expanding services.

“Subject to
regulatory approvals and beyond confirmed schedule updates and frequency
enhancements, additional route announcements are planned in the coming months,
so that by the end of 2014 our brightly-coloured aircraft will be seen at many
more destinations.

“I am
particularly excited for the increased capacity on our Mauritius route, which
will provide our guests with more flexible travel options.”

From December,
Mauritius services will move to a morning departure from Seychelles, operating
on Monday, Friday and Saturday, with the Saturday service flown by the island
carrier’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft, providing 29 per cent more seat capacity.

Paris services
operated by Air Seychelles’ Airbus A330-200 wide-body aircraft will sport new
flight numbers, and depart Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Wednesday and
Saturday respectively, arriving in Seychelles Thursday and Sunday. Similarly, flights to Paris will depart
Seychelles on Tuesday and Friday, arriving in Paris the following day.

Johannesburg’s
three weekly wide-body services will operate on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday,
offering a convenient new weekend option for guests.

Air Seychelles’ services between Abu Dhabi and Seychelles will
increase from 14 to 18 flights per week, while partner Etihad Airways will
continue to operate three return services per week on the same route, offering
customers a choice of 24 weekly flights between Seychelles and Abu Dhabi.

Mr Papa
said: “Our new fleet arrival, enhanced
schedule and additional frequencies take Air Seychelles to the next level.

“Combined,
these developments will cement Air Seychelles’ successful turnaround strategy,
increase and secure inbound tourism flows to Seychelles, and economically, be
hugely positive in terms of facilitating more trade across our network.

“Our
international network continues to perform well and with these additional
flights, we look forward to increasing connectivity to key markets important
for Seychelles tourism – in Asia such as Beijing, Chennai, Delhi, Riyadh, and
Tokyo, as well as in traditional and emerging European markets including Rome,
Moscow and Paris.

Tickets for the new schedule are on sale from today
and be purchased online via airseychelles.com, through a travel agent, by
visiting Air Seychelles sales offices, or by calling the Air Seychelles’ Call
Centre on +248 439 1000.